Reaction cuvettes have been provided in the past with a burstable reagent compartment, a reaction flow passage between the inlet end and exit aperture, and a filter across the flow passage. Examples can be found, e.g., in WO 86/00704. However, the cuvette in the latter operates by bursting the seal between the two sheets defining the reagent compartment, rather than by bursting the container wall. Such a construction is also used in other cuvettes having burstable compartments, e.g., those described in U.S. Pat. Re. No. 29,725 and EPA 381501.
Such burstable seals can produce problems of indeterminate sealing strength. That is, the force needed to burst the seal is not uniformly the same from cuvette to cuvette, due to variances in the sealing conditions (bonding temperatures and/or pressures). As a result, the temporary seal can fail unexpectedly or prematurely, leading to unsatisfactory results.
Therefore, there has been a need prior to this invention to provide such a cuvette wherein the burst strength of the compartment is more predictable and uniform.